Circuit continuing means



April 24, 1934. U L 1,956,379

CIRCUIT CONTINUING MEANS Filed June 15, 1932 Q 1 50 W a JW 5,? J3 j g Invert 0r fiQZrg/ CZ. DQ1 200 Patented Apr. 24, 1934- UNETEE S?ATES rarest errics 2 Claims.

This invention relates to circuit continuing means for electrical conductors.

Among other objects, the invention aims to provide improved means for continuing a circuit through a current conducting wire in conjunction with means for readily completing or discontinuing the circuit.

The invention is desirably inclusive of a casing for a circuit continuing device such as a switch and an insulating block carried by and forming a closure for one end of the casing, current conductors passing through the block into the casing and improved means for connecting a current conducting wire with each of the conductors.

The invention will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a switch structure with my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through a part of the structure of Figure 1 on a larger scale and is also a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the handle of the switch shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2 on a reduced scale; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of switch members employed with the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring in detail to the figures of the drawing the metallic casing 1 may house a circuit continuing device here represented as a pushpull switch having a reciprocable actuator which is inclusive of a tubular rod 2 having a knob 3 secured to its outer end to act as a handle therefor. lhe rod 2 is shown reciprocable in a bushing 4 which is riveted in a central aperture 5 in one end of the casing 1 and forms a closure therefor. Through the intermediation of the bushing 4 which is exteriorly threaded as at 6, the entire assembly may be supported by a mounting '7 which may be the instrument panl of a motor vehicle, the bushing 4 passing through a suitable aperture in the mounting and being secured therein by the clamping nuts 8 and 9 screwed on the thread 6 on either side of the mounting 7. The clamping nut 8 is desirably knurled on its periphery as at 10 to be readily screwed. into position by hand. The switch handle 3 as here shown may be hollow and may pass over the rod 2, the handle and rod having mating threads 11 by which the handle and rod are secured together. This construction also aiiords an annular shoulder 12 at the inner end of the handle which by abutment with the nut 8 limits movement of the rod in the bushing.

The inner end of the rod 2 is shown reduced as at 13 to be passed through a rider l4 desirably in the form of a flat plate of insulating material which is rigidly secured to the rod 2 as by riveting the inner end of the rod thereover as at 15. As best shown in Figure 5, the reduced end 13 or the rod 2 is desirably formed of somewhat square cross-section and the aperture 16 in the rider lath-rough which the end 13 passes is also square, thus guarding against rotation of the rider with respect to the actuator rod, To further guide the rider 14 in its movement within the casing 1 with the actuator rod 2 the casing for a portion of its length may have the longitudinal rib 17 formed therein mating with a notch 18 in the rider 14, thus rotation of the rider and rod with respect to the casing is prevented.

The rider 14 rides upon a moving switch contact arm 19 which is hinged intermediate its length, but near one of its ends. In this instance, I have shown the moving metallic contact arm 19 hinged to the free end 20 of a resilient contact continuation 21 formed of spring metal which is fixedly secured in the casing as presently described. The free end 20 of this contact continuation 21 is shown turned substantially at right angles to the adjacent portion of the contact continuation and having ears 22 at each side which pass through notches 23 in the sides of the moving contact arm 19 and are bent thereover, thus serving to hinge the contact continuation 21 and moving contact arm 19 together. In the vicinity of the fulcrum thus formed the moving contact arm 19 is deflected away from its fulcrum in both directions as at 24., thus providing a transverse hump 25 over which the edge 26 of the rider 14 may be snapped, the resiliency of the contact continuation 21 permitting the rider 14 to pass by this hump. Normally the edge 26 of the rider it rests against either the part 27 or the part 28 of the moving contact arm 19 on respective sides of the hump 25. One end of the moving contact arm 19 such as the end 29 most remote from the fulcrum of the arm is turned to be transverse to the casing 1 for a purpose presently pointed out.

The contact continuation 21 and the moving contact arm 19 are carried by an insulating block 30 advantageously formed of molded Bakelite, for example. The insulating block 30 is in turn carried by and forms a closure for one end of the casing 1, finger continuations 31 of the casing being received in indentations 32 in the annular shoulder portion 33 of the block 30 and bent over this portion into the longitudinal grooves 34 on the block. This insulating block is desirably cylindrical the indentations and grooves just referred to are appropriately spaced about the periphery of the block, so that the rider 14 will have its edge 26 located in actuating relation with the moving contact arm 19.

In accordance with my invention the insulating block 30 is desirably elongated axially of the casing l and has in this instance a plurality of intersecting longitudinal and transve "se passages therethrough. When there are a plurality of such passages each of such longitudinal passages 35 is located oficenter of the block, the passage being desirably reduced as at 36 where it communicates with the interior of the casing 1. Each passage 35 snugly receives therein a metallic cylindrical sleeve 37 which has a solid rivet end 38 passing through the reduced portion 35 of the passage 35 and riveted to the block as at 39, the sleeve thus being secured in the block against movement therein. One of these rivet ends 38 is shown passing through an opening 39a in a transversely bent portion 40 of the contact continuation 21 and riveted thereover as well as over the block 30 thus providing means for carrying the contact continuation 21 andthe moving contact arm 19 within the casing. To prevent relative rotation of the contact continuation 21 and the sleeve 37 which secures it the portion 40 of the contact continuation 21 may have a longitudinally directed tail e1 which seats in an appropriate cavity 42 in the face of the block 30.

The other sleeve 37 which is parallel to the sleeve which secures the contact continuation 21 is desirably extended beyond the face or" the block 30 as at 43 to be engaged by the edge 44 of the transverse portion 29 of the moving contact arm 19 when the rider 14 is in the position shown in full lines in Figure 2, a scraping engagement being thus attained which desirably keeps the contact surfaces bright and clean. The structure described to accomplish this result is disclosed and claimed in the ccpending Watts application, Serial No. 473,823, filed August 8, 1930 which has issued on June 6, 1933 as Fatent No. 1,912,607.

Each of the transverse passages 45 in the block 30 intersects one of the passages 35 and houses a detent which is desirably spring pressed into the sleeve 37 through an aperture 46 in the sleeve registering with the transverse passage 45. In the illustrative construction, the detent has a shank 47 and a dome-shape nose as, the detent being flanged annularly as at 49 between its shank and nose. The transverse passage 45 is reduced at one end as at 50 thus forming an internal shoulder 51. The shank i7 is slidable in the reduced portion 50 of the passage and between the shoulder 51 and the flange 49 is disposed a coil spring 52 which surrounds the shank 47 and urges the nose 48 of the detent through the aperture 46.

Each of the sleeves 37 snugly receives therein the bulbous shape metallic terminal 53 of an insulated wire, such as 54, the detent nose 48 snapping over the annular transverse shoulder 55 of the plug and into the annular groove 56 or" the plug.

So constructed and arranged, the sleeves 37 provide circuit continuing means for continuing the circuit through a plurality of wires 54 when such circuit is completed by the switching device here shown or by some other circuit continuing device. The wires 54 and plugs 53 are readily snapped into the sleeves 37 and are desirably maintained in insulated parallel relation with each other and with the block 30. The contacts provided in this instance by the sleeve extension 43 and the contact continuation 21 may be electrically insulated by moving the actuator rod 2 inwardly so as to place the rider 14 in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, thus pressing the moving contact arm 19 away from and out of engagement with the contact extension 43, in this way discontinuing the circuit.

Having described an embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. In a circuit continuing device, the combi- 1 nation with a metallic casing; of an insulating block carried by and forming a closure for one end of the casing; intersecting longitudinal and transverse passages through said block, the longitudinal passage being reduced where it communicates with the casing; a metallic sleeve housed in the longitudinal passage, said sleeve having a rivet end received and riveted in the reduced portion of the passage; a detent housed in the transverse passage; an aperture in the sleeve registering with the transverse passage to partially admit the detent, said aperture and said transverse passage being maintained in regi ter by the riveted end of the sleeve; a spring housed in the transverse passage and pressing at one end against a shoulder in the transverse passage and at its other end against the detent to urge it into the aperture; and a contact provided in the casing by the rivet end of the sleeve.

2. Circuit continuing means comprising, combination, a metallic casing; an insulating block elongated axially of the casing and block upon the exterior of the casing; a plurality of spaced apart longitudinal passages through the block, said passages being reduced where they communicate with the interior of the casing; a metallic sleeve snugly received in each passage and having a rivet end received and rivited in the reduced portion of the passage; resilient detent means associated with the sleeves; contacts provided by the rivet ends of the sleeves; longitudinally extending grooves in the periphery of the block; an annular external shoulder at one end of the block; and finger ccntinuations of the casing bent over said shoulder and re-- ceived in the said grooves to maintain the block in abutment with the casing to form a closure therefor, said finger continuations and said grooves cooperating also to maintain the block in predetermined rotative relation with the casing to predetermine the positions of the said contacts within the casing.

HARRY A. DOUGLAS.

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